LONG BEACH — Some Long Beach firefighters took the long, frightening way down as they were lowered by rope off a crane platform more than 100 feet in the air Thursday.

It was all for a rescue drill that simulated a crane operator having a stroke while working atop one of the many towering cargo container-moving cranes in the the Port of Long Beach, said Fire Capt. Jackawa Jackson.

It took the Long Beach Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue crews less than an hour to find, treat and return the “victim” to the safety of the dock at Long Beach Container Terminal on Pier F.

Firefighter Ernie Torres played the victim and was lowered to the ground with Rescue Firefighter Fernando Silva, who, like his fellow crew members, carried about 100 pounds of gear on his back.

Part of the scenario included the crane losing power and the crane operator’s cab extended out over the water, requiring the crews to hike up to the platform and out over the water.

It took the rescue crew only a few minutes to climb the narrow, steel staircase to the 140-foot-high platform as wind blew and rain fell.

In a real emergency, the rescue crew — which includes a paramedic and other members of a crew, all trained as emergency medical technicians — would immediately begin to treat and stabilize the victim if necessary, Jackson said.

The task of securing the ropes used to lower the victim to safety takes between 35 and 60 minutes, said Battalion Chief Frank Hayes.

The crews first dropped a line to one of the department’s fireboats bobbing in the harbor below. After the line was dropped, firefighters on the boat used a huge slingshot to propel the line over to a fire engine on the dock so that the victim and rescuer could be lowered, at an angle, to the stable surface of the dock.

A belay line, or safety line, was also strung with the two other lines in case something went wrong.

The lines were lowered to the boat because the crane’s cab was over the water, but the boats were also there in case someone fell into the water, Hayes said.

The fire department’s USAR team regularly tests and drills on various scenarios to keep its skills and certification, the battalion chief said.

A similar drill from a shorter height was conducted last week at Bluff Park, he said.

Safety Officer Steve Nott at LBCT said he volunteered the local terminal operator for the high-rise rescue because it’s good practice for the fire department crews, especially members who may not be familiar with heavy equipment at the ports.

The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles trade off hosting the local fire departments – Long Beach and Los Angeles County Fire Department – for such drills each year, he said.

Health benefits officers from the ILWU Local 13, the union which represents crane operators and other dockworkers in the port, also participated in the drill.

Other safety measures adopted by the LBCT – which manages the terminal for its subsidiary, the Oriental Overseas Container Line – and some other terminal operators is the inclusion of a specially designed rescue rack to help firefighters get to dockworkers who may be hurt or sick and stranded atop one of the containers stacked on ships – which can soar more than 50 feet above the deck of the massive ships that move them from port to port.